Ask HN: Easy to learn front end development

2 points by pickle-wizard 5y ago ↗ HN

I'm a sysadmin who has moved into DevOps over the years. As such I've written tons of Bash, Python, and PowerShell scripts. I've got a couple of product ideas, and I can whip up a serviceable backend with the skills I have. Where I get stuck is on the front end.

Last year I started looking into React as it seems popular. However the learning curve is too steep and for my needs is like killing a rabbit with a howitzer.

I'm looking for something, where I can create a few editable tables and a few forms. Nothing too fancy, as I'm just focused on creating a demo of my ideas to show to potential cofounders.

Can anyone suggest a front end framework that is straight forward to pick up? It would also be nice if there is a book on it in O'Reilly books online as I have a subscription.

3 comments

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_benj 5y ago ↗

Not sure about O’Reilly but svelte is very nice and similar to plain HTML/CSS/JS.

Elm is also a fun but it can take you for a loop if you are not that familiar with functional programming.

pickle-wizard 5y ago ↗

I just took a look at Svelte. I like it. The documentation is good and looks easy to work with. Think I'll give it a whirl. Thanks for the info.

sreyansjain 5y ago ↗

Please look at [HTMX](https://htmx.org/). It uses just plain old HTML and might work for you. I have had success with it in creating a Airtable like table.